A technique for encouraging participants to support each other in applying what they learn, that I got from Kaisu Tuominiemi, a coach at Mondragon Team Academy.
The flow:
At the end of a learning event, a course, a workshop, a class, the joker asks participants to write down one (or two) specific actions they want to take in the next two weeks, as a way to apply what they have learned.
Each participant writes down her action on three separate cards (a small index card or such), along with her name and email, keeping one card as a reminder of the task to do and giving the other two to participants of her choice. The idea is to ask the other participants to email you in two weeks time to check in and see if you are making progress on the action.
Notes:
The action pledge is not a sacred vow -- everyone is free to change the task, drop it, etc. However, the commitment to contact the person who gives you a card should be taken seriously.
The freedom to choose the person you want to contact you is important. The person asked to receive the card should, of course, feel free to decline for any reason.
This activity encourages people to plan "SMART" actions, actions that are specific, measurable, assigned to a person, realistic, and time specific.
Variations:
It would be interesting to think of different ways to use this for accountability purposes in a worker-to-worker network (an organizing structure I learned from friends at Teamsters for a Democratic Union), or in horizontal groups without a centralized coordinator. The role of receiver of the cards could be one that people play in rotation over the course of time, each one taking a turn at being the accountability/follow-up person for the working group. Or, you might want to keep it decentralized and based on affinity, letting people help each other follow through.